While Swarthmore students are notorious for being over-involved, somehow, students manage to find time between classes, clubs, and board meetings to add another activity to the list: a job. The real-life activity of participating in the workforce has permeated the Swat Bubble, with students finding a variety of places to spend some extra time to earn some extra cash.
Campus jobs are in no short supply and students have a variety of opportunities to work on and off campus to gain experience and build their resumes. Regardless of prior experience and interests, students are finding various jobs to further enrich their lives.
Cecilia Paasche ‘16 has had a variety of odd jobs on campus. Perhaps most interestingly, Paasche has worked as a clothed model for Randall Exon’s figure drawing class once a week on Thursdays. Luckily, she was not required to hold a pose for the entire three hour class; another model would pose on Tuesdays, and Paasche’s role was to help art the students fill in parts of their work. “Sometimes they would need specific poses or part of the body so I’d provide a wrist or something,” Paasche said.
Outside of her career as a part-time model, Paasche has worked for the Phone-a-Thon once or twice a week. She and other students call alumni to talk to them about the alumni fund and to ask them to make donations to the school. “It’s been really fun to work on the Phone-a-Thon,” she says. “You can get into really interesting conversations about their time at Swarthmore or what they’ve been doing since they graduated.”
Paasche had prior experience interning at a magazine company and views her skills of answering phones and contacting people for information as helpful experience for this job. “Working at the magazine really helped,” she says, “after that experience, any residual phone fear I had left was gone.”
During her freshman year, Paasche also used her prior tutoring experience from high school to work as a French tutor for her fellow students. This job was more flexible and she would only work when students requested help through the French program. She also works as a gallery monitor for the Lang Performing Arts Center’s exhibits. She found out about the job after working for Alumni Weekend and primarily works on answering questions and providing information to visitors.
Ali Roseberg-Polier ‘14 is paid to work in garbage and food-waste. She is one of two paid compost workers who works with seven assistants to run daily compost runs to all the eateries on campus from Sharples to Essie Mae’s, from Kohlberg to the Science Center. Each day, Roseberg-Polier says they collect approximately three or four 20 gallon buckets of food scraps and a 40 gallon bucket of compostable dishware.
As an active part of Swarthmore’s Ecosphere club, Roseberg-Polier has been interested in composting as a way of decreasing Swarthmore’s waste. As a compost coordinator on campus, she says the experience has “given me an a greater appreciation for compost. I think it’s really cool that we can divert so much waste each day. It’s a way that we can give back and I think that’s really exciting.” The compost collected from campus is then used in the school garden, a visible manifestation of composts’ benefits.
The program also has spread to include the dorms, where Green Advisors put compost bins outside of their doors to collect food scraps from hall residents. Two coordinating Green Advisors are another part of the paid positions funded through the Lang Sustainability.
Another green related job takes another approach. Patrick Ammerman ‘14 served as a liaison for the Sustainability Committee his junior year. The committee consists of faculty, staff, administrators and students and works to assist students in developing their ideas to make campus more sustainable. As the student liaison, Ammerman took notes at meetings which were held three times a semester, maintained the Committee’s webpage, coordinated with student leaders in EcoSphere and sent out weekly newsletters from the EcoSphere digest.
Ammerman discovered the job at the beginning of the semester when the position was open. It allowed him to work somewhat independently and also on behalf of the committee. “I learned a lot about the school administration and the committee system,” says Ammerman, “and it gave me a chance to work more with EcoSphere and help them to accomplish their goals and strengthen.” Ammerman left the position to leave it available for other students because, “it’s a great opportunity and is unique in combining environmental issues and allows students to be directly involved in the committee system.”
Many students also find employment through the various libraries on campus. Desheane Newman ‘14 has worked at McCabe since his freshman year. He found the job during orientation week at the job fair and has worked six or more hours in the library every semester since then. Newman has learned a lot about the library and has become familiar with the book system by helping patrons check out and find books.
Aside from learning about the functionality of the library, Newman learned other useful skills. “I used the job as social time,” says Newman. “I was able to interact with a lot of people and worked on my communication skills in general.”
Perhaps the most positive aspect of a library job for Newman and other students is the immense flexibility it offers amidst a hectic schedule of classes and extracurriculars. “If I feel really exhausted,” says Newman, “someone can usually take over my shift and the library understands. On slow days, I can even do my homework or reading during my shift.”
Some students find opportunities to work off campus as well. Despite the commute, students such as Alejandra Barajas ‘15 find employment outside of the Swarthmore community and manage to make it work in their schedule. Barajas has been working at an immigration law office in Media, Pennsylvania since the beginning of her freshman year. She takes a shuttle to get to work and this year manages to fit about six hours a week into her schedule. Previously, she worked approximately 12 hours a week, but now also works as a PA coordinator on campus, limiting the time she is able to spend at the law office. The job allows her to get away from the Swat Bubble while also remaining involved on campus.
“I found out about the job through the Reserve Student Digest,” she says. “I’m thinking about going into law school and the description was for a bilingual administrative assistant which fit what I was looking for.” She decided to send in a resumé and was called in for an interview and got the job without any prior job experience. She now has experience and is able to be involved in the legal process by filling out forms, contacting clients, translating, compiling evidence, and creating cover letters.
“I had wanted to go into law before,” she says, “and now that I’ve seen how we resolve issues, seeing families reunited and couples allowed to stay in country together, I definitely feel like this is something worthwhile for me to pursue.”
Barajas feels like it has been a significantly enriching experience for her. “It has definitely opened my eyes to the real world,” she says, “which is something we don’t necessarily get it in classrooms. I’ve gained everyday work experience. It might not be for everyone but it has been especially valuable for me.”
As a sophomore, Uriel Medina ‘16 has worked a hodgepodge of odd jobs around campus. His first semester of freshman year, he was a van driver for the Lang Center and as a short-order cook at Paces Café; his second semester, he worked as a co-director at Paces and occasionally as a babysitter. This semester, he works at Sharples and as a reception manager for the Lang Center.
“I usually work at least fifteen hours a week,” says Medina. “It can be tough as I’m part of various exec boards, but I think that ultimately having a campus job grounds you because I feel like if you have tons of free time it makes it easier to procrastinate. If I know I have class form this time to this time, I have work from this time to this time then I need to prioritize and get work done.”
Medina has especially gained a new perspective from his job at Sharples. He’s enjoyed working with the staff and has come to appreciate their role significantly more. He says that, “the people who work at Sharples really want to get to know students. Being on the other side of the glass, I realize that Swatties aren’t always the most polite to people who facilitate our lives and make our lives easier. People might not say ‘hi’ or ‘thank you.’” Working at Sharples can also be especially challenging since staff must constantly be on their feet for several hours and the serving areas become very hot from the food.
The job is also a chance for Medina to interact with other people. “I really enjoy seeing all the Swatties,” he says. “I’ve met a lot of people who stop me because they recognize me from Sharples. It’s a nice opportunity to say hi and catch up.”
Medina’s previous experience in food service came from his time at Paces Café. “Working at Paces was probably my favorite job,” he says “but it was also the most stressful. Having a hand in running it was very tiring and I have so much respect for the people who work to make sure it’s open.”
Medina has gained more than money from his jobs and feels like working is a constructive way for students to become involved on campus. He always finds time to manage his hectic schedule and makes sure to prioritize. “A job,” he says, “keeps you grounded and makes you value your time more.”
While campus life and academics may be overwhelming, these students and others have managed to incorporate a job into their schedule. The result from these experiences is overall positive as students learn outside of the classroom and develop skills that will help them in life after Swarthmore.
